U.S. to Resume Student Visa Appointments With Mandatory Social Media Checks

(The Post News)- The U.S. State Department announced on Wednesday that it will resume scheduling student visa appointments for international applicants while implementing a new policy requiring all applicants to make their social media accounts public for government review.

The move comes after a temporary suspension of visa interview scheduling in late May, as the Trump administration prepared to expand digital screening measures for national security purposes. The new directive mandates that consular officers examine applicants’ social media activity for any signs of hostility toward the United States, including its citizens, government, culture, institutions, or founding values.

Applicants who refuse to unlock or publicise their social media accounts may be viewed as attempting to hide their online activity and could be denied a visa.

The new guidelines apply to all student-related visas, including:

F visas for academic students,
M visas for vocational programs, and
J visas for exchange students.
A State Department official defended the policy, stating:

“It is an expectation from American citizens that their government will make every effort to make our country safer, and that is exactly what the Trump Administration is doing every single day.”

Officers are also instructed to screen for individuals who support foreign terrorist groups or are involved in antisemitic harassment or violence.

The move is part of a broader Trump administration crackdown on higher education institutions, particularly elite universities. President Trump has accused schools like Harvard of enabling left-wing activism and failing to address antisemitism in response to pro-Palestinian demonstrations. His administration has frozen billions of dollars in federal funding and attempted to revoke such institutions’ ability to enroll international students—actions that are now being contested in federal court.

According to Open Doors, more than 1.1 million international students from over 210 countries studied in the U.S. during the 2023–2024 academic year.

The resumption of visa services comes as students around the world scramble to secure appointments, travel bookings, and housing before the new academic year. Many had anxiously monitored visa portals and press briefings in recent weeks.

One such student, a 27-year-old Ph.D. candidate in Toronto, secured a U.S. visa interview for next week. The Chinese national, identified only by his surname, Chen, said, “I’m really relieved. I’ve been refreshing the website a couple of times every day.”

Applicants from countries including China, India, Mexico, and the Philippines have taken to social media to express similar relief and to share updates on appointment availability.

While the reopening of visa processing is a welcome development for international students, the new social media requirements have raised concerns among civil rights advocates, who warn of privacy violations, overreach, and the chilling of free speech.